In 2003,
administrators at
Stanford University's Electrical
Engineering Department were startled
when a group of foreign students aced
the notoriously difficult Ph.D. entrance
exam, getting some of the highest scores
ever. That the whiz kids weren't
American wasn't odd; students from Asia
and elsewhere excel in U.S. programs.
The surprising thing, say Stanford
administrators, is that the majority
came from one country and one school:
Sharif University of Science and
Technology in Iran.

"In 2003, administrators at Stanford University's
Electrical Engineering Department were startled when a group of foreign students
aced the notoriously difficult Ph.D. entrance exam, getting some of the highest
scores ever.

"That the whiz kids weren't American wasn't odd;
students from Asia and elsewhere excel in US programs. The surprising thing, say
Stanford administrators, is that the majority came from one country and one
school: the Sharif University of Science and Technology in Iran."

Newsweek quoted Bruce A. Wooley, a former chair
of the Electrical Engineering Department, as saying, "Stanford has become a
favorite destination of Sharif grads."

Noting that Iranian students are developing "an
international reputation as science superstars," the weekly added.

"Iranian students from Sharif and other top
schools, such as the University of Tehran and the Isfahan University of
Technology, have also become major players in the international Science
Olympics, taking home trophies in physics, mathematics, chemistry and robotics."
According to the news magazine most of the grads of Iranian universities were
working with major international companies.

"The Silicon Valley companies from Google to
Yahoo now employ hundreds of Iranian grads, as do research institutes throughout
the West. Olympiad winners are especially attractive; according to the Iranian
press, up to 90 percent of them now leave the country for graduate school or
work abroad."

Newsweek said that one of the major reasons
behind the success of Sharif University was its "extremely rigorous selection
process." "The selection process [gives] universities like Sharif the smartest,
most motivated and hardworking students in the country," the weekly quoted one
of Sharif's former grads Mohammad Mansouri as saying.

The magazine added that boasting an excellent
faculty and Iran's high-school system were other secrets of Sharif's success.

According to Newsweek Iran's high-school system,
places a premium on science and exposes students to subjects Americans don't
encounter until college.